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Bedevilled [2010] – Strikes a Vicious Punch at Human Apathy

Irish political thinker Edmund Burke said the famous words
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing”. Korean film-maker Jang Cheol-soo’s hard-hitting drama “Bedevilled”
(2010) enacts the hellish reality of those words, showing us the two polar opposite societies,
where passivity runs amok. The film particularly touches upon women’s passivity
when confronted with ruthless male dominance. Two of the oldest, engaging
themes -- betrayal and revenge – form the core, driving element of the narrative,
while it also intricately approaches the gender politics. The unbridled abuse
and sporadic scenes of bloodbath in “Bedevilled” is definitely not for the
faint of heart. Writer Kwang-young Choi and director Jang Cheol-soo’s
non-glamorizing, gritty portrayal of the abuse endured by the characters would
provoke a stronger response from the viewers. The film in its second-half
transforms into a horror movie, jettisoning small traces of melodrama to
embrace rage. Rather than make an intellectual critique about the cultural
perceptions on gender inequality, “Bedevilled” becomes totally subversive. It
is a transition which many may dislike. However, this explosive brutality made
sense (to me) or seems like a fitting reaction to the bottled-up passivity of
the society.

“Bedevilled” shouldn’t be mistaken as a slasher horror, set
in an exotic place. The vengeful attitude and the subsequent bloodshed never
give you the much-needed emotional catharsis. It keeps us confused on whether
we should root for the central character’s monstrous turn. Unlike the Hollywood
movies, it doesn’t camouflage the savagery experienced by the victimized and
victimizer. The movie opens with passive people, witnessing a crime near the
traffic signal. A gang of tough young men are about to beat-up a girl. The shot
is cut to 30 year old Hae-won (Seong-won Ji), a bank employee in Seoul. The
pleadings of a poor, old woman at the bank over a loan issue push her to the
edge to react angrily. Then with the same abrasive manner, Hae-won drives to
police precinct to identify the youths who brutally attacked the girl, previous
night. Thinking of staying away from trouble, she doesn’t identity the
perpetrators and flees from the station. Back at work, the inherent guilt plus
witnessing the beating, makes Hae-won to create another altercation.

The boss forces Hae-won to take a brief vacation. She
returns home. Her neighbor gives the bundle of letters, which she dumps into
the bin after just looking at the address. She knows where the letter is from,
but doesn’t reply or read it to break the enforced chains of passivity.
Nevertheless, Hae-won decides to take up a vacation to her native Moo-doo
island. She is returning after 15 years to meet the letter writer Kim Bok-nam
(Yeong-hie Seo), a childhood friend of Hae-won. Upon arriving at the island,
she discovers that Kim has been suffering horrific abuses in the hands of her
husband, brother-in law and their ruthless aunt (at one point , the aunt
reminds Kim that ‘a woman is happiest when she has her husband's dick in her
mouth’). The rest of the tiny island’s population consists of a bozo-chewing old man and old farming woman. Kim’s finds solace only in caring for her little
daughter. She begs Hae-won to at least take her daughter, away from all the island’s
monstrosities. Alas, Hae-won is a selfish woman, who thinks that the old
grandfather house, Exotic Island and Kim’s devotion (or worshiping) would
purge her defective emotions. When she comes across the endless cycle of abuse,
Hae-won simply embraces the same passivity and harshness, she demonstrated in
Seoul. Gradually, Kim Bok-nam reaches to a breaking point after experiencing a
great loss and betrayal.

The build-up of atmosphere and mood is almost flawless from
director Jang. He unfurls majority of appalling events, set in the island, in
broad day light. In that brightness, the ferocious male dominance seems more
intense. “Bedevilled” is definitely not subtle. It manipulates our emotions to
constantly boil over with rage (of course for the same reason many may turn off
the film with disinterest).The sense of
total defeat exhibited by Kim Bok-nam makes us hope for reversal of situations.
The brutality stacks up higher in the narrative that islanders seem crazier
than merely dysfunctional. The frames also keeps on lingering on the abuses
that we are pushed to the same emotionally numb state of Kim. At times, the
proceedings are unnecessarily brutal. The mere disclosure of the family head’s
incestuous behavior sends shocking waves within us, but the camera lingers over
as the father’s hand rests on the little girl’s pelvis to keep on jabbing at
the dreadful feeling. Apart from those visual overloads, director Jang
effectively brings out the multi-layered, complex nature of Kim’s plight.

Writer Kwang-young Choi clearly places the blame on
islanders. But the ingenuity lies in the way he has created Hae-won against
whom we channel all our anger. We find ourselves easily rooting for Kim’s
survival or aggression, but at the end we are also able to identify ourselves
in Hae-won. Her yearning to break away from the apathy and acceptance of
cruelty makes us wonder how different would we have reacted in such a situation.
It is such layers that transcend it from being a typical revenge/slasher flick.
The inevitable outburst of Kim and the transition to horror territory is
effectively made. The transformation scene was staged brilliantly. Kim stands
still in the field gazing at the bright sun, after working herself to the point
of exhaustion. The luminous shot ironically points at the turn towards darkness
and the change is confirmed when she announces that the sun spoke to her. The
mad aggression in the end remains more than a mere payoff sequences. The
throat-slitting homicidal rampage is showcased with an omnipresent brutality
and so not played for kicks as in typical slasher flicks. There’s a clear
symbolism in the manner Kim uses sickle and all the tools of servitude to
fulfill her vengeance. Director Jang riddles the narrative with such overt
symbolism, but the most gorgeous one is the final ‘dissolve’: sad Hae-won lies
down on the apartment floor and it slowly transitions to an island, in the
shape of woman, lying down. Hae-won’s final gesture may be considered as shot
at redemption and hope. But, the very last ‘dissolve’ how the ‘island’ will
always be a part of her (I also feel that death would be a very easy way out
for Hae-won’s sins). Or may be on a grander scale, that particular shot is a
metaphor for our isolated society; selfish and indifferent forever. To say
that, Yeong-hie Seo gives a hard-hitting performance would be an
understatement. First of all, she is immensely brave to play such an
emotionally draining character (the script didn’t get made because many Korean
actresses rejected the role of Kim). Her smiling demeanor, in the face of
unspeakable abuses and bizarre attempts to shut out the horrific realities
around her was gut-wrenching to watch.

Trailer

“Bedevilled” (115 minutes) is one of the most unnerving and
emotionally distressing Korean feature-film. It finely juxtaposes the
polarizing elements: layered profundity and brutal slashing; strikingly
beautiful scenery and darkest crevices of the society.